An away day in Kashima is a tough enough prospect with 11 players on the field. So it was no great surprise to see Frontale come away with nothing following the first-half dismissal of Junichi Inamoto.

That's not to say they didn't have their chances. Had the likes of Renatinho and Vitor been a bit more clinical on the counter in the second half, it could have been a very different story. Although, to be fair, Takashi Aizawa's goal did live a charmed existence at times.

(For those wondering why Aizawa's suddenly been promoted to first-choice keeper, Riki Sugiyama picked up a calf injury in training the day before the Omiya match and is likely to be out for at least a month.)

There's still a long way to go this season, but the boys now need a decent run of three-pointers if they're to avoid falling too far off the pace.

However, after the loss of two big names (in Eiji and Tese), one gets the feeling that some kind of morale booster is now required to get things back on track, whether it be the return to action of an in-form Juninho or a new signing. Worryingly, I'm not too sure how likely either of these is.

Friday, July 09, 2010

Not only will fans get to see what progress the stay-at-home members of the team have made during their mid-season training camp, it will also be an emotional farewell to two fine servants of the club - Eiji Kawashima and Chong Tese.

Eiji is heading for the bright lights of the Belgian top flight with newly-promoted Lierse SK. While Tese will be testing his mettle in the German 2nd division with recently-relegated VfL Bochum. Good luck to them both - they will be missed.

No news of any replacements, but judging by Riki Sugiyama's assured performances in goal last season, I'd say a new striker would be the higher priority (after all, who knows what state Juninho will be in after 6 months on the sidelines?). As well as maybe a defender...or two.

Here's the team I hope to see starting against Omiya (assuming Mori is serving his suspension and the rest are all match-fit):